John Kasich's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Due to a later filing deadline, a lack of contact information, or other circumstances delaying entry into our database, John Kasich was not directly invited to take the 2016 Political Courage Test. John Kasich is still welcome to submit the test at any time.

Issue Positions

In response to the increasing unwillingness of candidates to answer issue questions, Project Vote Smart has researched Presidential and Congressional candidates' public records to determine candidates' likely responses on certain key issues. These issue positions, from the year 2016, are provided below as a courtesy to voters.

Pro-life

Abortion: Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?

Vote Smart's Research

PBS "Kasich is a firm abortion opponent. In June 2013 the Ohio governor signed into law a bill to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, allowing an exception only if the life of the mother is in danger." http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/john-kasich-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/ (www.pbs.org)

Washington Post "Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed stringent abortion restrictions into law as part of his state's budget Sunday night, just days after Democratic Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis thrilled abortion rights groups nationwide with her successful filibuster against proposed anti-abortion regulations in her home state." http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/07/01/ohio-gov-john-kasich-signs-new-abortion-restrictions-into-law/ (www.washingtonpost.com)

No

Budget: In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?

Vote Smart's Research

cleveland.com "Kasich has proposed reducing income taxes by 23 percent over two years and almost eliminating income tax on small businesses. Both, he says, will promote entrepreneurship and economic growth." http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/02/john_kasich_makes_big_pitch_fo.html (www.cleveland.com)

cleveland.com "A certain level of taxes is inevitable. ... Those taxes must be generated in the least harmful way. I think we should lean less on income taxes, which punish the economic growth that we all seek, and lean more on consumption taxes." http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/02/john_kasich_makes_big_pitch_fo.html (www.cleveland.com)

No

Crime: Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders?

Education: Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants?

Vote Smart's Research

"I'm for choice in education because I think the more competition (there) is among adults to fight for the right to educate our kids, the better our kids do. Our love is for the kids. Our love is not for a structure or some kind of an organization. It's for the kids." http://www.forbes.com/sites/maureensullivan/2015/07/21/john-kasich-on-education-8-things-the-presidential-candidate-wants-you-to-know/ (www.forbes.com)

Energy: Do you support funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?

Vote Smart's Research

"We are going to continue to work on cleaning coal, but I want to tell you, we are going to dig it, we are going to clean it, and we are going to burn it in Ohio, and we are not going to apologize for it." http://energyfuse.org/energy-policy-2016-spotlight-on-ohio-governor-john-kasich/ (energyfuse.org)

No

Environment: Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?

Vote Smart's Research

"Climate change is real. The EPA should not regulate emissions." http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/john-kasich-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/ (www.pbs.org)

"Try to jam this stuff down people's throats and you are going to fail. I do not want the public to lose confidence in the fact that we can have strong environmental regulations that ensure the public safety, and we are working with industry to make sure that it is not overboard, but it we are also not going to let it be under-board to the point where the public can feel a sense of security." http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/225073-kasich-touts-climate-belief-but-wont-apologize-for-coal (thehill.com)

No

Guns: Do you generally support gun-control legislation?

Vote Smart's Research

"In terms of the assault weapon ban, you know, here is a governor of Ohio, I was supported overwhelmingly by -- by the NRA because I do believe in the second amendment." http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/04/08/gov-kasich-says-unifying-message-is-essential-for-2016/ (www.foxnews.com)

"I believe in the 2nd Amendment. Everybody has the right to keep and bear arms to either protect your family, protect yourselves, to be a hunter. The 2nd amendment is part of that Constitution. It's something I believe in. And, we're going to stand firm, very firm, for 2nd Amendment rights here in the state of Ohio." http://www.politifact.com/ohio/promises/kasich-o-meter/promise/783/oppose-restrictions-on-gun-rights/ (www.politifact.com)

Yes

Health Care: Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?

Vote Smart's Research

"You know, I'm not a supporter of Obamacare. We rejected the federal government telling us to run the state - run exchange." http://votesmart.org/public-statement/765599/2013-state-of-the-state-address/?search=Obamacare#.VTq--aC0QVY (votesmart.org)

No

Immigration: Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?

Vote Smart's Research

NBC "He has also angered conservatives with his 2013 decision to expand Medicaid within his state as a part of Obamacare, and with his openness to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants."
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/john-kasich-says-hes-running-president-n395396 (www.nbcnews.com)

"We've got to look at broader immigration reform, because some people are waiting in line 25 years." http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/us/politics/john-kasich-on-the-issues.html?_r=0 (www.nytimes.com)

No

Marriage: Do you support same-sex marriage?

Vote Smart's Research

"I do believe in traditional marriage, but the court has ruled and it's time to move on." http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420476/john-kasich-obergefell-same-sex-marriage-settled-must-move-on (www.nationalreview.com)

New York Times "Mr. Kasich said he believes in "traditional marriage" between a man and a woman. But after the Supreme Court recognized the right to same-sex marriage, he said it was "time to move on" rather than to seek a constitutional amendment to let states prohibit same-sex marriage, as some conservatives want." http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/us/politics/john-kasich-on-the-issues.html?_r=0 (www.nytimes.com)

Unknown Position

National Security: Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict?

Vote Smart's Research

Key

Official Position: Candidate had the Political Courage to address this issue directly.

Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue directly, but Project Vote Smart inferred this issue position based on the candidate's public statements, voting record, and evaluations from special interest groups.

Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue.

Project Vote Smart's Research: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position.

Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as the candidate has submitted it. Project Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Congressional Election 1996 National Political Awareness Test

This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

The American people have consistently mentioned the decline of morals and ethics in America as a major problem facing the country. Explain what you will do as a member of Congress to address this concern.